This is a guest blog by Simply Lynn’s Creative
In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, one thing has remained relatively the same over the decades: Email.
Email marketing has consistently remained a powerful tool for retailers and small businesses alike to reach their audience in a specific way. With the benefits of automation and segmentation that have developed over time, email marketing is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful tools a retailer can use to market themselves!
If you’re new to the email marketing game, no worries! In this blog, we’ll dive into all the ins and outs of email marketing, including the benefits, capabilities, and what tools would best fit your retail business.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is a method of reaching out to customers and potential customers through email. For retailers, this direct form of communication can be instrumental in promoting products, offers, and company news.
Email automation isn’t just about writing and scheduling. It’s about sending out purposeful emails at strategic moments, like when a potential buyer abandons a cart or a loyal customer celebrates a birthday.
Email marketing platforms have become increasingly intuitive over the last decade with tools like automation and segmentation. Segmentation involves dividing your audience into subsets based on certain criteria like purchasing behavior, preferences, or demographics, ensuring your messages are as relevant as possible. These audience segments are usually identified with system “tags.”
Segmented lists allow for more personalized content, enhancing the relevance of each message for its intended audience. Emails tailored to segmented lists have shown to have higher engagement rates, meaning more eyes on your products. By ensuring content relevance through segmentation, retailers can reduce the chances of subscribers opting out.
Automation is exactly what it sounds like- turning your email sequences and segmentation processes on autopilot! For example, you could automate applying a segment tag to an email contact if they clicked a specific offer link in your automated email so you know if they were interested in that offer.
Through automation, emails can be set to be delivered at critical touchpoints, enhancing their relevance and chances of engagement. Automation ensures that processes are streamlined, reducing manual intervention and ensuring consistency.
All of these tools are designed to keep your marketing as easy and as relevant as possible and to bring warm leads even closer to becoming raving, returning fans and customers.
The Benefits of Email Marketing for Retailers
Compared to more traditional forms of advertising, email marketing offers a more cost-effective means of reaching customers. Most platforms have an annual or monthly fee that allows you to send as many emails as you want!
Email marketing also allows for a direct line of communication with customers, helping build a stronger relationship and fostering trust. Not to mention, there’s a bit of “exclusivity” that comes with being on someone’s email list. This exclusivity makes deals and sales even more desirable to a customer!
But it all must come back to data. With various tools available in email marketing platforms, retailers can track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, making it easier to gauge campaign success.
Picking the Best Platform for Your Retail Business
There are so many email marketing platforms out there to choose from- Active Campaign, Convertkit, Flodesk, Mailchimp, and more. They all have comparable features and pricing, but which one works best for retailers?
After years of experience in the retail digital marketing space, Klaviyo stands out. Klaviyo offers advanced automation and segmentation features designed specifically for retail and eCommerce success. Klaviyo has many integration capabilities, but our favorite platform to integrate it with is Shopify!
Here are our favorite ways to utilize Klaviyo and Shopify in tandem:
- Welcoming new subscribers to your email list via an automated welcome workflow
- Nurturing customers who haven’t made a purchase in 90-120 days
- Thanking customers after they make a purchase in-store or online with a call-to-action to leave a review about their experience on a Google Business Profile
- Recording data and information from advanced segments, customer profiles, and email campaign data that constantly syncs between the two platforms
Not to mention, with these two platforms, you can easily execute a strong email marketing strategy after the heavy lifting is done (our favorite part of the job!) by utilizing our Canva email marketing templates that were created specifically for retailers, complete with our highest converting strategies, and layouts that are easy to brand to your business in Canva!
Email marketing can be such a transformative tool in your retail business. When utilized most effectively, email marketing can lead to increased engagement, sales, and customer loyalty. For retailers looking to refine or kick-start their email marketing strategy, now is the perfect time to dive into automation and segmentation to make the most out of your marketing!
Not sure how to get started? No problem!
Check out The Profitable Email Marketing Bundle For Retailers in our resource shop for retailers to get access to over 15 email templates crafted specifically for retailers, high-converting subject lines, and bonus social media templates to create a consistent look from social to email! If you prefer to take the set up of everything off of your plate, our done-for-you project would be a great fit! Check out more here.
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